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Families of Malaysia Airlines MH17 Victims Want Damages, Lawyers Say

VOA News

   The families of the nearly 300 victims of a downed Malaysia Airlines
   passenger plane wantreparations,their lawyers said Monday, more than
   six years after the plane was shot down over Ukraine.

   All 298 passengers and crew on board MH17 were killed on July 17, 2014,
   when the plane wasallegedlyshot down by a Buk missile fired from
   territory in eastern Ukraine, then claimed by pro-Russia rebels. About
   two-thirds of the victims were Dutch. The Boeing 777 was flying toKuala
   Lumpur from Amsterdam.

   Russians Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinskiy and Oleg Pulatov,andUkrainian
   Leonid Kharchenko,were named as suspects in 2019 after a multiyear
   Dutch-led international investigation. The four men are being tried for
   murder, though only Pulatov has legal representation in the trial.

   Peter Langstraat, who represents 450 relatives of the victims, said
   that 76 relatives wanted to make victim impact statements,and 316 said
   they planned to seek damages, reportedReuters.

   The reparations are unspecified, and the claims have not yet been
   filed. Lawyers representing the families asked the court to decide
   whether Dutch or Ukrainian law will be applied in seeking damages.

   "This is about individuals who were confronted six years ago with a
   terrible loss that continues to have an influence on their lives
   today," said ArletteSchijns, who also represents 450 relatives,
   according toThe Associated Press.

   "The criminal trial is important for them because it will establish the
   facts of what happened on July 17, 2014. Who is responsible for it?
   What sentence they deserve,"Schijnssaid."In other words, it's about
   justice, fairness, crime and punishment."

   The international investigation, conducted byrepresentatives
   fromAustralia, Belgium, Ukraine, Malaysia and the Netherlands, found
   that the missile used to shoot down MH17 came from Russia's Kursk-based
   53rdAnti-AircraftMissileBrigade.

   Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement. Prosecutors
   said"obstruction and disinformation" byRussian authorities adds to the
   pain for the victims' relatives.

   "We're talking here about people of flesh and blood. In addition to the
   grief they face because of the loss of their dearest, they are
   additionally injured by Russia's attitude,"Schijnstold judges.

   The trial, which began in March, resumed in absentia of the suspects,
   who remain at large. Russia does not extradite its citizens. Three
   judges fromThe Hague District Court are presiding over the trial, which
   is being conducted at the Schiphol Judicial Complex near Amsterdam.

   The trial is set to continue Sept.28.

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